


Semisweet

by doridoripawaa



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Baking, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cookies, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28250490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doridoripawaa/pseuds/doridoripawaa
Summary: Nico and Maki make some Christmas cookies for Santa.
Relationships: Nishikino Maki/Yazawa Nico
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Semisweet

"You know, for someone who's supposed to be skilled with her hands, you're really bad at this, Maki."

The redhead turned and glared at her companion, whose smug smirk seemed to pierce through Maki's own skin and strike her at her very core. "I'm a pianist, not a baker, Nico!"

Nico chuckled softly and shook her head, sending her dark pigtails bouncing around her face. "I didn't even make you do the tough parts!" she pointed out. "I asked you to roll the dough into balls. But this…" She reached over to Maki's pan and plucked a pile of dough from its surface. "This looks more like a mashed potato than a ball."

A deep blush as vibrant as her hair spread across Maki's cheeks, and she turned away from Nico with a huff. "Well, if I'm so inadequate at making cookies," she muttered bitterly, "then why did you bother inviting me?" She folded her arms across her chest and sent a challenging glare in Nico's direction.

A quick glance, but long enough for her to take note of the rosy red that lit up Nico's face like wildfire. "B-because," Nico stammered, and she began to roll Maki's misshapen dough lump into a proper ball. "You clean chimneys, you're a star student, and you're an amazing musician, so I thought you would be able to handle making cookies!" She opened her mouth as if she were about to add something, but then she slowly closed her jaw until she was biting her lower lip.

"Plus… I know you love Christmas."

Soft. Simple. Sweet.

Hearing this tone coming from Nico's bold, brash, belligerent lips was almost frightening.

For a moment the two of them worked in silence, Maki trying to clean up some of her sloppier pieces, and Nico running back and forth between the counter and the pantry as she fetched ingredients. "Next is the chocolate chip dough," she murmured, "but I was thinking we could add white and semisweet chocolate morsels, to spice them up a little."

Before she could think about the words leaving her mouth, Maki muttered under her breath, "Well, don't ask me. You're the expert here."

Why couldn't she hold back when it came to Nico? Why did the senior always prompt her to be sassy and snarky, to be cold and cutting?

Why did she make Maki always regret what she said? 

"Fine then, Lady Maki," Nico snapped. "I'll do as I please, but if Santa doesn't like them, then you're partially to blame for not stopping me!"

At the mention of Santa Claus, Maki's body suddenly went rigid. She dropped her lump of dough and spun around to face Nico once again. Desperation danced in her violet eyes as she pleaded, "Please don't make anything Santa would dislike! Please don't upset him!" 

Taken aback by this sudden display of emotion, Nico's gaze fluttered down to the cookie sheet. She almost seemed embarrassed, flustered, and ashamed. Ashamed of threatening Santa? Or ashamed of upsetting Maki so deeply? "I… I would never deliberately do that," she mumbled sheepishly, and with crimson cheeks she turned back to the bowl of dough off to the side. "So tell me what he'd prefer. Semisweet or white chocolate?"

Relief. 

The wave of release that swept over Maki, loosening her limbs and unclenching her jaw, was almost palpable. "Let me think," she murmured. Having recovered from her brief moment of panic, she tapped her chin thoughtfully and furrowed her brow. "I would say you should add both," she decided at last. "I've never given Santa a cookie that he didn't eat, so I'm assuming he likes just about every flavor combination." She closed her eyes and nodded slowly, recalling the many goodies she had left out on Christmas Eve over the years. "Sugar, gingerbread, chocolate, macadamia…" She began to rattle off the list of cookies on her fingers. "Linzer, shortbread, oatmeal raisin--"

Nico held up a hand to stop the redhead in her tracks. "You gave Santa oatmeal raisin cookies?" she asked. "Were you  _ trying  _ to get coal?"

Maki shook her head vehemently. "Of course not!" she insisted. "Who doesn't like oatmeal raisin?"

The petite black-haired girl opened her mouth, but then she quickly clamped it shut. "I won't go there." She just sighed and shook her head in thinly disguised pity. "But I get the message. Double chocolate will be fine."

As Nico poured the morsels into the bowl, Maki continued to try rolling her lumps of dough into proper balls. "I don't get it," she muttered.

The older girl tilted her head in confusion. "You, Maki Nishikino, don't understand something?" She gasped and dramatically raised her hands to cover her mouth. 

She soon found herself with cookie dough splattered across her nose and lips. "That was totally unfair!" Nico whined. Pouting, she grabbed a towel and dabbed the sticky dough off of her face. "I was  _ going  _ to show you, but…"

Nico nearly jumped out of her skin as Maki suddenly took a large step forward until they were almost pressed against each other, chest to chest. The younger girl grabbed Nico's hands in her own, cradling them in her slender pianist fingers. "You would help me?" she whispered. 

As if she had snapped out of a trance, Maki's eyes grew wide, and she swiftly dropped Nico's hands and lifted her own back to her face. "N-not that I really need it," she grumbled as she began to twirl some scarlet curls around her fingertip. 

"Trust me," Nico responded with a smirk on her face. "You do."

Before Maki could waste any more of their batter, Nico shuffled over to stand directly beside her. "The key is to use your palms, not your fingers," she instructed. "Pick up some dough."

Maki obeyed silently, scooping up some dough and plopping it into her palm. "What do I do next?" She glanced down at Nico and spotted a soft smile spreading across the other girl's lips. She half-expected it to look confident or cocky, but for once her expression was… surprisingly sweet.

Nico reached over to rest her palms on the back of Maki's hands. "Let me guide you," she urged, and she nodded in satisfaction as Maki's hands loosened up. "There. Now squish the dough between your palms, and rub your hands in circles." She gently interwove her fingers between Maki's, and she carefully navigated the first-year's hands so that they moved in a smooth, rhythmic pattern. "There! That's perfect!"

Triumphantly, Maki held out the little ball of sugar cookie dough for Nico to see. She lifted her chin and puffed out her chest.

For a moment they stood in silence, just crafting more cookies for Santa and placing them onto Maki's cookie pan. After a while, Maki began to hum quietly; she was singing a familiar holiday tune. Nico couldn't help but hum alongside her, trying to harmonize until they were making music together. 

Finally Maki had fixed all of the dough blobs from her sheet, and she turned to her instructor with twinkling eyes. Nico beamed at her, and her entire face seemed to light up like a Christmas tree.

"Um, Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"You can probably let go of my hands now."

Probably. Was that a request or a reluctant observation? Nico, however, gave Maki's hands one last squeeze before she stepped back to her own station. "L-let's bake them now," she stammered, cursing herself silently as she felt blush rise to her cheeks. Maybe she could blame her redness on the oven's heat. "Can you start making the next batch without me?"

Maki huffed and folded her hands over her chest. "O-of course," she muttered. "But… you know…" Her gaze flickered to the bowl of batter, then to Nico, then down at her own sticky hands once again. "If you wanted to give me another quick lesson, I wouldn't mind it."

Nico Yazawa, unlike Maki Nishikino, did not believe in Santa Claus.

However, with each passing minute, she began to believe in Christmas magic just a little bit more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the commission! ;u;


End file.
